Longer-Term Buprenorphine Tapering Improved Opioid Abstinence

“Outpatients addicted to prescription opioids may benefit from a 4-week taper regimen followed by naltrexone maintenance, according to data published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Compared with prescription opioid-dependent adults who were tapered off for 1 or 2 weeks, those who were tapered off for 4 weeks experienced greater abstinence from opioids.

The double blind, 12-week randomized trial included 70 adult outpatients addicted to prescription opioids. Participants were randomly assigned to a buprenorphine tapering regimen of 1, 2 or 4 weeks, plus naltrexone therapy. The intervention was split into two phases: phase 1 occurred between 1 and 5 weeks from randomization, during which time participants attended the outpatient clinic daily; phase 2 occurred between weeks 6 and 12, and participants attended the clinic three times per week. Behavioral therapy and urine toxicology tests were provided during both phases of the trial.”